SpaceX, partnering with NASA and Axiom Space, is aiming to blast a four-person crew to orbit at 3:42 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 22.
The private Ax-4 mission was supposed to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on June 10, but inclement weather in the ascent corridor forced the mission team to call off the effort. A plan to launch 24 hours later was also ditched following the discovery of a liquid oxygen leak on the rocket.
NASA has also been monitoring an air leak in the Russian Zvezda service module at the space station, an additional situation that prompted NASA, in coordination with its Russian counterpart Roscosmos, to delay the Ax-4 launch for safety reasons while they worked out what to do. Following repairs, pressure in the affected area stabilized, and NASA was able to announce a new target launch date.
After patiently waiting in isolation at the Kennedy Space Center, the four crewmembers are now setting their sights on this Sunday, hoping that their long-awaited orbital adventure can finally begin.
“The change in a targeted launch date provides NASA time to continue evaluating space station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the International Space Station’s Zvezda service module,” Axiom Space said in a release.
Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and now director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission. Flying with her in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will be individuals from India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation on the cusp of celebrating its first-ever mission to the space station.
The mission will last about two weeks, with the four members living and working alongside the current ISS crew.
Interested in watching SpaceX’s first crewed launch since Crew-10’s flight in March? Digital Trends has everything you need to know.
